Dietitians and Nutrition in the News, Week of October 21 to 27, 2012

Melissa Joy Dobbins, RD and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, and her 12-year-old daughter Sarah came into ABC7 studio to share tips for managing your sweets and how you can keep your kids from overeating their candy.

Calls for more transparency and better science on everything from genetically modified foods to the effect of factory-farmed dairy cattle on milk offered a dizzying array of opportunities for funders who are interested in health, nutrition and sustainability.

Whole Grains For Healthy Family Meals

Liz Weiss, RD explains how you can incorporate healthy whole
grains into several meals throughout the week that your entire family
will enjoy.

A study published in the September issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, concluded that fish oil doesn’t lower heart disease risk. “This study had some basic flaws,” says Tribole. “They didn’t measure compliance, there was no background information on omega-6 intake, and there was no omega-3 index done, a test that measures DHA and EPA in fatty tissues”

Tribole explains that this is an ongoing issue, as many people complain that taking fish oil results in fishy burps. And the benefits of fish oil get murky when people consume high levels of omega-6 fatty acids because these fats compete for the same enzymes as omega-3s, crowding them out.

"While any carbohydrate-based food you eat ultimately breaks down into sugar, causing blood sugar levels to rise, that doesn’t necessarily lead directly to type 2 diabetes. Instead, the bigger risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes appears to be excess weight, especially around the mid-section, which triggers the release of various compounds, including known as inflammatory cytokines that are thought to contribute to insulin resistance. Aside from excess weight, other factors that influence the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes include gender, age, ethnic background and genetics. Diet and exercise are also factors, but it is the overall quality of the diet, and especially fruit and vegetable intake, seems to be more important in predicting risk than sugar intake only.

"The Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association working mainly for college athletics programs, is asking the N.C.A.A. to do away with the one-meal-per-day limit and “instead permit unlimited interval feedings as needed throughout the day to fully restore athletes and make them ‘whole again.”

The group is recommending that “all college athletes, whether or not they receive financial assistance, be offered unfettered access without restriction to whole foods and, as necessary, dietary supplements, to replace nutrients, fluids and electrolytes expended while preparing for their sport.”

Amanda Loscar, RD with Giant Eagle is employed to help customers with health conditions make healthier food choices. Loscar is among 22 dietitians Giant Eagle hired in the past three years. They work in 36 of its stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland. The O'Hara-based company, with 230 stores, is jumping on a national trend of grocers employing dietitians to assist customers.